“Last year we were still searching for an identity going into the playoffs”
It’s a long season, and there are too many other things going on - March Madness, the juggernaut that was the New England Patriots, the Britney soap opera - to possibly keep up with the NBA from start to … via The Olympian
“A great player, a key piece for their team”
The smile began to crease Kobe Bryant’s face as he considered a response when asked his initial reaction to the Pau Gasol trade.
“No way. There’s no way,” he said Friday, acknowledging disbelief.
And when did he realize how well Gasol would fit in with the Los Angeles Lakers?
“I knew right off the bat, before he played a game because of his skills, his intellect, that he would be a perfect fit for us,” Bryant answered without hesitation.
The Lakers acquired Gasol from the Memphis Grizzlies on Feb. 1 for Kwame Brown, rookie Javaris Crittenton and two first-round draft picks. Read more
1 L.A. Lakers vs. 8 Denver Story lines: Kobe Bryant, the leading MVP candidate, has his best chance to get back to the Finals since he and Shaquille O’Neal split. … These teams have not played each other since Jan. 21, and both are different teams (the Nuggets have yet to face Pau Gasol in a Lakers uniform). … Will Lakers C Andrew Bynum, injured for the second half of the season, have an impact? … The Nuggets are one of the worst defensive teams in the league, playing against one of the best offenses. via Detnews.com - Pistons-NBA
Orlando Magic guard Hedo Turkoglu and Kobe Bryant of the Los Angeles Lakers were named Eastern and Western Conference Players of the Month, respectively, for games played in April. via Miami Herald
“The rest of the guys, if that’s the case, we got to stand up and help him out”
Tyson Chandler was one of many defenders New Orleans put on Dallas Mavericks forward Dirk Nowitzki on Wednesday. via WFAA-TV Dallas
“You can throw a blanket over the first six teams in this conference”
In the words of coach Phil Jackson , the Los Angeles Lakers set themselves up for success by entering the playoffs as the No. via Hampton Roads Daily Press
“The Phoenix-San Antonio matchup is going to be an absolute bloodbath”
Shaq and the Suns vs. the Spurs. Kobe Bryant head-to-head against Allen Iverson . via StarTribune
There are a few significant things the Dallas Mavericks don’t have to worry about going into the playoffs this time. via KXAM-TV Austin
“There’s a lot of load taken off my shoulders because here I’m not the No. 1 guy”
The Lakers are back on top in the Western Conference. Or, as their fans consider it, Manifest Destiny. via The Press-Enterprise
Can we end all this now, please? Stop pretending, or demanding, there’s some great debate here? What there is, is a clear and obvious choice. via LA Daily News
* First-round matchup: No. 1 Lakers vs. No. 8 Denver Nuggets. * Records: Lakers 57-25, Nuggets, 50-32. * Season series: The Lakers swept the three games, winning by an average of 16.3 points. * Key matchup: Kobe Bryant versus Allen Iverson. Two of the game’s most gifted offensive players probably won’t be matched up for most of the series, although Bryant probably will guard Iverson during key stretches. Iverson scored a season-high 51 points when the Lakers outlasted Denver, 111-107, on Dec. 5. * Keys to the series: The Nuggets have been in a playoff drive for weeks, exerting a lot of energy just to reach the postseason. How much will that, plus Carmelo Anthony’s recent DUI arrest, hurt the team? The Nuggets’ defense largely consists of Marcus Camby, the NBA’s reigning defensive player of the year, and four others who show faint interest in stopping their opposing player. The Nuggets rank second in the league in points scored and points given up. The Lakers swept the series against the Nuggets and that was before their trade for Pau Gasol. — Jonathan Abrams via Los Angeles Times
While NBA big-wigs and their corporate partners froth at the mouth over a possible Lakers-Celtics meeting in the Finals for the first time 21 years, there’s that other possibility they don’t want to see. via Fox Sports
“Do you trust your boy? Just sit back and enjoy the show.”
Kobe jumps over Aston Martin On a recent day off, the best player in the NBA decided to jump over a sports car coming at him fast enough to end his life — much less his career. via Charlotte Observer
“It’s important for the rest of the league to know that we can play as hard a defense as anybody and we can be as intense and as aggressive as anybody in the league”
The Lakers spent part of Monday morning signing jerseys and basketballs for charities and corporate sponsors, with the tagline for their memorabilia, and their season, to be determined at a later date. via Los Angeles Times
“No, I don’t think of it in those terms, but, yeah, we are (fortunate)”
It seems like ancient history, what with a Pacific Division title in the books and the best record in the Western Conference still a possibility, but there were plenty of agonizing questions facing the Lakers … via LA Daily News
